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Would you be interested in an autographed Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle baseball?-No, man. I only collect baseball cards from 1986-1995. Sorry that I can't help you.

The guy that actually asked me that brought in about 3 or 4 stacks of early 90s commons wrapped in rubber bands and proceeded to tell me that he had some "old ones" in there. He spread all that junk out over one of my display cases, removed a Steve Yzerman base card, because as he explained, "that was a very rare one", then he showed me the 'older" ones which included the ancient treasure of a 1991 Donruss Cecil Fielder Diamond King. Let's just say I'm not holding my breath on the Ruth/Mantle baseball.

A guy in full western gear complete with boots, hat, string tie, and handlebar mustache sauntered in and began to look around. His wife was dressed in a frilly flowing dress straight out of a 1960s western movie. I had seen this guy several times at my previous location and had been approached by him more than once to tell the same story about a bunch of wrestling magazines that he wanted to sell. Now I admit, my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be, but I remember faces and especially remember the outlandish things these people say. I mean, if you see the same person EVERY week for 10 years, don't you think you would at least recognize them? I guess I am not very memorable because several times people have approached me to tell me the exact same story as they did a couple months prior not realizing that they have talked to me several times. Then again, given the level of intellect involved in most of their stories it shouldn't surprise me I guess. It does surprise me that some of these people can actually find their way home and back again to repeat their crazy tales. The guy looked around for a minute then asked, "How much is Dan Marino?" "What Dan Marino item are you asking about?" I wondered. "Rookie" the man said. "Marino's rookie card is from the 1984 Topps set. It has a book value of $60." I said. "I got one." the man firmly stated. There was a pause I assume waiting for me to applaud, high five him, or hug it out like bros. "Yeah, I have one down there in the display case labeled Football Rookie Cards." I answered. "What about Peyton Manning's rookie?" the man continued. "Peyton has probably 50 or more different rookie cards so it would depend on which one you have" I answered. "The main one" the man said. At this point any shred of patience I had for this ridiculously dressed individual went right out the window. "Manning's rookies range from about $10 to $1500 depending on what you have" I again continued. "Mine is from the 80s" he again stated with a poker face. "Peyton Manning was in grade school in the 80s. His first year in the NFL was 1998" I said with distain in my voice. This drew a few chuckles from some other regular customers who were browsing around the shop. The man's wife then chimed in and stated, "You really know your cards!" At that point my self esteem had never been higher. Receiving such a fine compliment from a couple of Bonanza stage hands really made my day. "Yes, I have been dealing with sports memorabilia most of my life" I affirmed to the lady. "Do you want to buy some wrestling magazines?" the man chimed in. "What era are they from?" I asked. "80s" the man deadpanned. "Most of my wrestling customers are younger kids and they only know the current stars. They don't know many of the guys from the past." I said. "That's a shame. That was back when they really 'rassled. They didn't fake it back then." the man said proving once and for all that he was in fact dilusional. "I may have to bring my cards in to sell them to you" the man said as he and his wife walked away. I can hardly wait for that money train to roll into the station. Of course, I'm sure we will have this conversation again several times before I ever see any cards from 'ol Tex.

Another weekend of wild and wooley action from the trenches of sports memorabilia sales, has come and gone. More of the same silly questions, mass produced 90s gold mines, and people trying to haggle on a $3 item.

A couple weeks ago, I shared a story about the King of the Cowboys (story quoted above) who came in and told me of all the great things he had including a Dan Marino Rookie Card and a Peyton Manning Rookie Card, his "main one", from the 1980s. Well, guess who showed up again yesterday? Yep, it was 'ole Handlebar Tex. He was similarly dressed and this time flying solo minus his wife. He strolled up to me and asked, "Do you buy cards?" "You asked me that two weeks ago, and the answer is still the same. I am only looking for cards produced BEFORE 1980" I answered. "I did?" he acted surprised apparently not remembering our exchange. "What about Dan Marino?" he asked. I just looked at him filled with rage. "I got his rookie card" he said. "So do I" I replied. "You wouldn't buy that?" he asked again. "Not interested" I replied shortly. "I got Peyton Manning's rookie card too" he said yet again. Again I just looked at him. "I need to bring them by and maybe we can work out a deal" he said as he was walking away. "I'm pretty well stocked on Manning too" I said to the back of his head. "It's from the 80s" he said as he left the shop. "Thanks buddy" I heard him exclaim from somewhere down the aisle. I swear if this guy comes back one more time and tells me this same crap, I WILL snap. I can't take it anymore. The sheer level of stupidity and general cluelessness is getting to me. I would post a sign stating what exactly I am buying but it wouldn't do any good. I give the same answer to that stupid question EVERY time, "I'm only looking for cards produced BEFORE 1980". Everyone always says that they have some "old ones", then they roll in with 1991 Donruss commons. After years of this same nonsense, it is really wearing on me. Maybe 1 out of 5 people that I talk to has any idea about sports or collectibles. The rest are complete idiots. I have got to find a way to set up a webcam or something. Peoplel will never understand how frustrating it is unless they see it first hand. Thank goodness, I am on vacation next week. I really, really, really, really need a few days away to clear my head.

Complete idiots? Wait until I make a road trip to your store. Maybe I won't even tell you who I am.

Where I'm from....

As of August 8, 2015: After coming to a long thought-out and difficult decision, I will no longer be joining box/case breaks. There are things in my life require my attention and resources that have been on the back burner for too long. Right now, I have to appreciate what I already have.

Two weeks back after my vacation and still more of the same."Do I buy cards?" "Are these cards really signed?""What is a Goudey Joe DiMaggio Rookie Card worth?"

Wait a minute.........what?

That is exactly what I was asked moments ago. An older gentlemen wandered in and asked me if I was selling any cards today? Even though it was none of his business, I responded with, "Yep, sure am." Then he hit me with the bomb, "How much is a Goudey Joe DiMaggio Rookie Card worth?" Now he would have to know a little something about cards to know about the Goudey brand. They aren't exactly as plentiful as early 90s commons. I told him that the value would depend entirely on the condition of the card. "I had it graded about 15 years ago" he continued. I almost fainted. Not only did he know the term Goudey but now he was talking about graded cards. Could it be too good to be true? "What did it grade?" I asked. "I don't remember" he answered. Now wait a minute, this guy has a very rare Goudey Joe DiMaggio rookie card, he went to the trouble and expense of having it graded, and he doesn't know the grade? Maybe he has so many awesome rare vintage jewels that this card is no big deal. Maybe Joltin' Joe's rookie card is just another piece of cardboard amongst his epic collection. I just have a hard time believeing that if someone had something so rare and potentially valuable that they wouldn't have any idea what grade the card received after having it professionally graded. I mean my memory is horrible, but I'm pretty sure that little fact is something I could retain.

Before the DiMaggio debacle a guy came in and stated that he had a question. I waited patiently for the madness to ensue. "I have a collection of about 30,000 cards that i need to sell. I got them from an older man. I'm not looking to piece them out. I want to sell them all for $800." I then went on to explain that I'm only looking for card produced BEFORE 1980. He then continued about all the great cards he had, stacks and stack of Derek Jeter rookies, Alex Rodriguez rookies, and Trot Nixon whom he said "should be hot right now". That is where I cut him off. "Trot Nixon hasn't playe din the major leagues in years. He was an average player at best even in his prime" I said. "Not Trot Nixon, that guy that is so hot right now, what's his name?" he asked. Somehow I made the connection between Trot and Trout and asked, "Mike Trout?" The guy lit up with excitement. "Yeah there is a bunch of him in there" he said. He then went on to explain that this collection also had a 1991 Topps Desert Shield Chipper Jones rookie and a 1990 Topps Frank Thomas No Name on the Front rookie. Just so happens that those are two of the most rare cards from the early 90s. Of course he has them BOTH. Then he showed me his shrewd negotiating skills and said, "I only gave $100 for them all". Well, that takes the cake. Not only does this guy have the only desireable cards from a an entire decade but he was only trying to make a modest 800% profit off me. I told him that I don't buy large lots anymore due to the volume of cards I have in inventory and I only look for a few specific things. Then I sent him away to another guy I know that has an eBay store and is always looking for inventory. My luck the guy actually did have all that stuff. Oh well, i will still sleep tonight without all those Trot Nixon rookies.

A family came in that visits every few weeks. They always talk aloud to each other about all the great stuff and they always try to impress each other with their vast sports and collectibles knowledge. Today they were browsing about the shop talking about how awesome everything was and of course, not spending a dime. One of the young boys said, "Hey dad, who played for the Cowboys who had the last name Smith and wore 22?" The dad looked at his son with much disgust and snapped, "Emmitt Smith son! At least pretend that you have watched some football o.k.?" They continued to browse about and the other young boy pointed out a framed 8x10 photo of some Green Bay Packers legends. "Who is that guy?" the boy asked his dad as he pointed at the photo. The dad again seemed disgusted, rolled his eyes and replied, "That's Vince Lombardi. That is the guy they named Lambeau Field after." ......... Glad the dad cleared that up for us. I'm sure their next visit will produce more great bits of wisdom and no sales......as usual.

Well another weekend of shop insanity is well underway. So far today I have been asked several questions, most of which we have covered in these threads many times. I did get one question from a young lady that I must say, I have never been asked in over 10 years of business in this area. She started out by asking, "You don't have any Derek Jeter cards do you?" After I assured here that I did, I got the stack of Jeter rookies from my baseball rookies display case and presented them to her. I then fetched the stack of base cards and inserts of Jeter that I have behind the counter in my star boxes. She was blown away. She took a particular liking to the Topps Gold Jeter RC that I had. Then she thought for a second and hit me with this gem, "I wish you took Wal-Mart cards because I don't have any cash". I am continually amazed at the number of people that come into this mall, spend time looking, waste my time getting stuff for them, only to announce that they didn't bring any money with them. This literally happens a few times every weekend. Maybe I am the crazy one but if I don't have money to spend, I don't go to a store, I stay home!

Another interesting exchange just overheard a few moments ago. Two guys in their 20s stopped in to look and ponder aloud the authenticity of all my PSA and JSA authenticated autographs, many of which I obtained in person doing shows for the better part of 15 years. Apparently there is only one blue sharpie in the world and I have it and I use it to forge all these signatures. I don't have a good explanation for it but the majority of autographs signed are in blue ink. It has been that way for years. Just look at some of the pack pulled autographs in your collection, the majority are signed in blue. One guy said, "I saw a thing on TV about this" gesturing toward the autographed items. "Maybe somebody carried a blue pen around with them all the time" the other guy said. People crack me up. They just can't fathom that someone who deals in sports memorabilia and has for over 20 years could have so many autographs. They crack me up.